Vintage GUCCI Nubuck Leather Bamboo Top Handle Handbag Brown
View Similar Items
Vintage GUCCI Nubuck Leather Bamboo Top Handle Handbag Brown
About the Item
Gucci
Long before trend-bucking creative director Alessandro Michele brought his hallucinatory “Utopian Fantasy” campaign to Gucci, it was a modest Italian leather shop. Today, it’s an internationally renowned luxury house with an iconic logo, and vintage Gucci clothing, handbags and shoes are among high fashion's most covetable goods.
Guccio Gucci (1881–1953) admired the stylish suitcases he saw wealthy guests arrive with at the Savoy Hotel in London, where he worked as a bellhop. So, in 1921, after a stint at Franzi, a luggage company in his hometown of Florence, he opened a leather goods shop of his own.
At first, Gucci’s Florence business specialized in equestrian accessories. But as its reputation flourished, particularly among the English aristocracy, so too did its footprint. In 1938, he brought three of his sons — Aldo, Vasco and Rodolfo — into the business and expanded it to Rome and later Milan. In the mid-1930s, a League of Nations embargo against Italy pushed Gucci to experiment with alternatives to imported leather. Its woven hemp fabric from Naples, adorned with the brand’s signature diamond print, was a hit, especially among A-list celebrities. The material was first used on suitcases before finding enduring popularity on handbags. (No list of revered designer purses would be complete without Gucci.)
In the 1950s, Elizabeth Taylor carried one of Gucci’s bamboo-handled tote bags, another adaptation to material rationing. After Jackie Kennedy was seen sporting a slouchy Gucci tote in 1961, it was renamed for the First Lady. Then Grace Kelly, on a visit to the boutique in Milan, inspired Rodolfo Gucci to work with Italian illustrator and Gucci textile designer Vittorio Accornero on the Flora print in 1966. Taking cues from Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera, with its pattern of flora and insects, it was painted entirely by hand and featured no fewer than 37 colors.
In 1953, just 15 days after opening his first store on New York’s 5th Avenue, Guccio passed away at 72. The early 1970s saw store openings in Tokyo and Hong Kong, but by the late 1980s, Gucci was floundering. Rodolfo Gucci took charge in 1982, but family drama and lawsuits ensued. In 1993, Rodolfo’s son, Maurizio, transferred his shares in the company to Investcorp, ending the family’s involvement in Gucci. Dawn Mello, then-president of Bergdorf Goodman, joined as creative director in 1989. But it was Tom Ford, who took over as creative director in 1994, who ultimately revived the brand.
Ford’s racy ads, shot by photographers such as Mario Testino, stirred controversy. And his potent vision of sexed-up femininity — with “jewel-toned satin shirts unbuttoned to there,” as Vogue described his breakthrough 1995 runway show — was wildly successful. The new millennium brought new ownership — Pinault Printemps Redoute in 2004 — and a more toned-down vision from Frida Giannini, who became sole creative director in 2006. Alessandro Michele was named creative director in 2015, and the storied brand took a giant leap forward.
Find vintage Gucci clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
- Vintage CHRISTIAN DIOR Black and White Tweed Small Lady Dior Two-Way HandbagBy Christian DiorLocated in Bangkok, THThe most iconic Christian Dior handbag, the Lady Dior, in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was the handbag Dior wished to give the Princess of Wales to carry on the occasion of ...Category
1990s Italian Top Handle Bags
$2,600 Sale Price20% Off - Vintage GUCCI Web Monogram Jacquard Vanity Hand Bag Brown SmallBy GucciLocated in Bangkok, THThis small vintage GUCCI Web vanity trunk bag is crafted of brown GG monogram jacquard and pigskin leather in dark brown decorated with Gucci’s iconic red/green stripe. Top push lock...Category
1970s Italian Top Handle Bags
$1,196 Sale Price20% Off - 1990s Vintage GUCCI Mini Bamboo Leather Handbag Metallic BrownBy GucciLocated in Bangkok, THThis vintage GUCCI mini bamboo top handle bag is crafted of pigskin leather in metallic brown featuring gold toned hardware and a black bamboo handle...Category
1990s Italian Top Handle Bags
$556 Sale Price20% Off - 1990s Vintage GUCCI Patent Leather Bamboo Ring Tote Shoulder Bag RedBy GucciLocated in Bangkok, THThis vintage GUCCI top handle shoulder tote bag is crafted of patent leather in red featuring two massive bamboo ring handles. Top magnetic sn...Category
1990s Italian Top Handle Bags
$476 Sale Price20% Off - Vintage GUCCI Diana Tote Bamboo Tote Bag Nubuck Leather Navy (Medium)By GucciLocated in Bangkok, THThis vintage GUCCI Diana bamboo tote is crafted of pigskin leather and nubuck in navy featuring matt gold toned hardware and bamboo handles. Top magnetic snap closure opens to a new ...Category
1990s Italian Top Handle Bags
$636 Sale Price20% Off - 1990s Vintage GUCCI Mini Bamboo Tote Bag Leather BlackBy GucciLocated in Bangkok, THThis vintage GUCCI mini tote bag is crafted of black smooth leather in folds featuring silver toned hardware and bamboo handles. Top zipper closure opens to a black leather interior ...Category
1990s Italian Top Handle Bags
- Fendi Peekaboo Mini Floral Canvas Satchel BagLocated in Philadelphia, PAFendi Peekaboo Mini Floral Canvas Satchel Bag in new unused condition. Beige canvas body with multi color embroidered sequin flowers and silver stu...Category
2010s Top Handle Bags
- RARE Chanel Nude Lambskin Hula Hoop BagBy ChanelLocated in Philadelphia, PAChanel Nude Lambskin Hula Hoop Bag in excellent condition. Rare hula hoop design from the 2012 spring runway. Nude quilted lambskin body with black lambskin d...Category
2010s Top Handle Bags
- Fendi Natural Python Snakeskin Two-Way HandbagBy FendiLocated in Philadelphia, PAFABULOUS FENDI natural snakeskin double compartment top handle bag in excellent condition. Natural python snakeskin exterior trimmed with gold hardware. Two seperate storage areas for carrying all your belongings safe and securely. Top compartment opens with a lifting logo clasp closure that reveals a suede lined interior that holds 1 zippered side pocket. The bottom compartment opens via two combination sliding locks that show a beige suede lined interior with removable cosmetic mirror...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Top Handle Bags
- Limited Edition Judith Leiber Rachel Zoe Python Medusa BagBy Judith LeiberLocated in Philadelphia, PALimited Edition Judith Leiber Rachel Zoe Python Medusa Bag in very good condition. Purple python exterior trimmed with maroon leather, matte gold hardware a...Category
Early 2000s Top Handle Bags
- Vintage Judith Leiber Pink Gold Python Snakeskin 007 James Bond BagBy Judith LeiberLocated in Philadelphia, PAJudith Leiber Golden Python Snakeskin 007 James Bond Bag in very good condition. golden metallic python with peachy pink shades. Gold hardware throughou...Category
1980s Top Handle Bags
- Vintage Salvatore Ferragamo Ganchini Clear Acrylic Bucket Bag with Gold PouchBy Salvatore FerragamoLocated in Philadelphia, PAVintage Salvatore Ferragamo Clear Bucket Bag with Gold Pouch in fair condition. Clear acrylic curved hardshell bucket with double handles and gold tone sign...Category
1990s Top Handle Bags
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Explore a Century of Gucci Fashion in London
The iconic Italian label’s traveling exhibition has just arrived in London.
The Stories behind the Most Famous Luxury Fashion Logos
From Chanel to YSL, the logos of some legacy fashion houses spark instant brand recognition and have come to symbolize a kind of luxury that feels at once aspirational and attainable.